Connect with us
Finance Digest is a leading online platform for finance and business news, providing insights on banking, finance, technology, investing,trading, insurance, fintech, and more. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

NEWS

New Zealand PM meets Biden to discuss U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy

Published On :

By Jeff Mason and Lucy Craymer

WASHINGTON/WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the White House, where their first face-to-face talks were expected to include Washington’s efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

The meeting took on greater importance as New Zealand in recent weeks has raised concerns about China’s presence in the region following news that Beijing had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands.

Joining Ardern in the Oval Office, Biden said Washington has no desire to dictate to the region but to partner with them. We have more work to do in those Pacific Islands,” he said.

China has made a concerted push to increase its influence and the country’s foreign minister is currently in Tonga as part of a region-wide tour.

New Zealand joined Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), an economic bloc that excludes China and was designed to counter that country, during Biden’s first trip to Asia as president last week.

Speaking to reporters at the start of the White House meeting, Ardern said the pact “presents a significant opportunity to build economic resilience in our region.

But New Zealand and several other countries in the region think the agreement does not go far enough, asking Biden to join trade pacts that could unlock U.S. consumer markets. Biden has been reluctant to do so because of domestic fears that such deals could cost jobs.

At the White House, Ardern referenced the multicountry trans-Pacific trade deal that Washington withdrew from in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump, but which New Zealand has stuck with and China hopes to join.

The two leaders were also expected to discuss their strategy for thwarting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as gun control in the aftermath of several U.S. mass shootings, including one in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 children and teachers dead.

After the Christchurch massacre in 2019, in which a gunman killed 51 Muslims, Ardern delivered a ban on semiautomatic firearms and other gun curbs, a stark contrast to the United States, where lawmakers and activists have struggled to address gun violence. Ardern offered her condolences on the recent shootings.

Ardern said she expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell.

“It’s not about new initiatives,” she told reporters at a briefing before heading to the White House. “It is actually about that relationship.”

Ardern has been in the United States as part of a trade delegation promoting business with New Zealand.

The two countries are close friends but the meeting with Biden had been uncertain after Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, given strict White House pandemic protocols.

Three members of Ardern’s delegation have now also tested positive for COVID.

(Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jonathan Oatis)

Continue Reading

Why pay for news and opinions when you can get them for free?

       Subscribe for free now!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Recent Posts